Prince Harry to lose out on ‘hugely important’ royal role after Frogmore Cottage eviction by King Charles
29 June 2023, 19:03 | Updated: 29 June 2023, 19:30
Prince Harry could be about to lose a major royal role after by leaving Frogmore cottage, an expert has revealed.
Prince Harry and Meghan finally vacated their former Windsor home on Thursday six months after they received marching orders from King Charles.
The royal pair’s remaining belongings were packed up and shipped off to their Californian home with just one day before the final deadline to go.
Confirming the news, Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: "We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated Frogmore Cottage.
"We will not be going into any detail on those arrangements here.
"Safe to say that, as has previously been stated, the duke and duchess have paid for the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant in relation to the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, thus leaving the Crown with a greatly enhanced asset."
Now that the pair officially have no British residence, however, it means the Duke of Sussex could be about to lose out on a vital royal role: Counsellor of State.
Counsellors of State carry out “official duties” of the King, which may including attending Privy Council meetings and signing routine documents.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun: “Losing their UK home without a replacement is a huge deal.
“The most important aspect as far as Harry is concerned is that it means he can no longer act as a counsellor of state.
“That’s hugely important because in theory he had the right, in the event of the king being incapacitated, to do this.
“Although he is no longer a working royal he still had this right - and by not having a UK residence he has now thrown this opportunity away.
“But of course it does seem that Harry, and Meghan, don’t care at all about the UK.
“They have no interest in their popularity or taking on roles here - they just care about their US audience.
“But it means if they don’t have a UK residence when William ascends to the throne then he will be unable to support his brother - not that he does that now.”
It comes after Prince Edward and Princess Anne were made Counsellors of State last year.
The Sussexes were gifted the Frogmore home after their wedding by Queen Elizabeth, although their time in the royal house never exceeded more than six months.
It was revealed that the royal pair were given marching orders from the five bedroom cottage just days after Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, was published, according to The Sun.
Mr Fiztwilliam said: “I don’t think it's any coincidence that they were told to vacate as soon as Spare came out.
“Obviously this was a very, very, clear signal from the firm that they were fighting back because the book caused a lot of embarrassment for the royal family.”
It is believed Prince Harry stayed in the Windsor home throughout his phone-hacking trial earlier this month.
Frogmore Cottage, a Grade II listed home and is reportedly to be rented out following the Sussexes’ eviction.
The couple are believed to have paid around £2.4 million to cover the refurbishment of the property while they were living there.
Buckingham Palace said they had no information on who would be taking their place inside the cottage.
Reports have floated that Prince Andrew has been offered the smaller, five-bedroom cottage, but sources claim he has no interest in downsizing.
